Dhaka: Youth and Sports Adviser Dr Asif Nazrul today expressed strong condemnation and protest against an instruction from the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) to remove Bangladeshi cricketer Mustafizur Rahman from the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) squad. He made his protest known through a post on his verified Facebook page.
According to Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha, Dr Asif Nazrul, in his capacity as the adviser in charge of the Sports Ministry, has urged the Bangladesh Cricket Board to formally explain the situation to the International Cricket Council (ICC) in writing. He stressed the importance of informing the ICC that if a Bangladeshi cricketer is not allowed to play in India despite being under contract, it raises safety concerns for the entire Bangladeshi cricket team during the World Cup.
Dr Asif further instructed the board to propose that Bangladesh’s World Cup matches be held in Sri Lanka. He also called on the Information and Broadcasting Adviser to halt the broadcast of the IPL tournament in Bangladesh, asserting, “We will not accept any insult to Bangladeshi cricket, cricketers, and Bangladesh under any circumstances. The days of slavery are over.”
Earlier, the Kolkata Knight Riders announced that Mustafizur Rahman had been dropped from their squad following instructions from the BCCI.